Advent Calendar 2023 Day 23: Holiday Startime, 1970

Time for a good old-fashioned variety showcase spectacular from LWT, not so shiny floor as the Colour Strike, which becomes no less an astonishing concept for all the times we write about it, meant it all came out in monochrome. Hosted by Maggie Fitzgibbon, who that year had her own LWT variety vehicle Maggie's Place and starred in wartime drama Manhunt, the most astonishing input comes from Vincent Price, sporting his Abominable Dr Phibes tache, giving a lecture about Christmas leftovers surrounded by empty bottles that may not have been props before being visited by fairy godmother Hattie Jacques. What else? Plenty else. Reg Varney at the piano, a Thora Hird and Arthur Lowe shopkeeper sketch, Les Dawson, Max Jaffa and Ted Ray with comedy violin bows at dawn, Peter Cook as the late EL Wisty and being interviewed by Jimmy Hill about his playing style in a self-penned Private Eye-referencing sketch, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber and Kenny Ball's Jazzmen at cross purposes and some once remarkably rare Bee Gees.